Businesses Not Banking On Boom From Riverboats

April 07, 1993|By Hal Dardick.

Aurora — A just-completed survey of 3,000 city business owners found nearly 99 percent were aware of the June startup of the city's riverboat casinos, but only 4.3 percent were making plans to capture economic benefits from the expected influx of 1 million visitors annually.

Most of the businesses that were making plans were restaurants and hotels, said Edward T. Popper, dean of the Aurora University School of Business and Professional Studies.

Popper and his colleagues conducted the survey, and their expenses were paid by Hollywood Casino of Aurora Inc., developer of the $60 million riverboat casino complex.

About 500 businesses responded to the survey.

Popper and Hollywood Casino said the entire business community, from the hardware store owner to the residential developer, can benefit from the riverboats, which are expected to employ more than 1,500 people.

Popper and his colleagues conducted the survey, and Hollywood Casino paid their expenses.

"What the survey does more than anything else is provide a rallying cry to the community," Popper said. "The absolute worst case, from the community's perspective, is for the casinos to come and do great and not have the businesses in the community capitalize on that."